Different Style Of Challenge Awaits In Second Round

SACRAMENTO — Less than 24 hours after beating Iona to advance in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row, the Oregon men's basketball team was back in the Golden 1 Center for practice Saturday. And while the UO staff was ostensibly preparing the third-seeded Ducks to face 11th seed Rhode Island, the language seemed just as suited for a wrestling match.

"Go in expecting contact, fellas," an assistant yelled as the Ducks ran through their offensive sets. "They're gonna bang!"

"They're going to have their hands all over you!" head coach Dana Altman shouted.

The Ducks (30-5) advanced to the second round by shooting 55.6 percent against an Iona team that wanted to run-and-gun, and played a relatively passive zone defense. It will be a different story on Sunday (4:10 p.m., TBS) against Rhode Island, the defensive-minded Atlantic 10 Tournament champs who block shots nearly as frequently as the Ducks, have the No. 2 three-point defense in the country and also send teams to the free-throw line about as often as any team in this year's NCAA Tournament field.

"Big contrast in styles," Altman said Saturday during a press conference following the Ducks' practice. "Iona wanted to run with us; I think Rhode Island will be more of a grind."

The Rams (25-9) upset sixth-seeded Creighton on Friday to reach the second round. The win was the ninth straight for Rhode Island, which entered the A-10 Tournament as the No. 4 seed before sweeping its way to the second conference tournament title in school history, and first since 1999.

Rhode Island, whose coach, Dan Hurley, is the younger brother of Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley, leads the A-10 in field-goal percentage defense (.404), three-point defense (.291) and points allowed (65.1). During the Rams' nine-game win streak, opponents are averaging 62.9 points per game and shooting .383 — including .247 from three-point range.

"They get out and pressure and are very physical," Altman said, before bestowing the ultimate compliment from a Pac-12 coach: "Kind of similar to Arizona in our league."

According to the analytics site kenpom.com, Rhode Island is the second-most effective shot-blocking team in the country — behind only Oregon. The Ducks' rim protection took a hit in the Pac-12 Tournament when their leading shot blocker, Chris Boucher, suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Senior forward Hassan Martin, 6-foot-7, leads the Rams with 73 blocks, and he averages 14.1 points with 7.1 rebounds per game. A-10 Tournament most outstanding player E.C. Matthews is Rhode Island's leading scorer with 14.5 points per game, but the Rams have 10 players who average at least 10 minutes per game and were led against Creighton by 23 points from Jeff Dowtin, who averages 5.5.

"It's a team that, anybody can get going, so we've got to be ready for everybody," UO junior Casey Benson said.

Benson helped the Ducks achieve some balance of their own Friday against Iona. He scored nine points to complement four starters in double figures, including Tyler Dorsey, who surpassed 20 for the fourth straight game this postseason, and Payton Pritchard, who had 15 total points in the previous four games but scored 16 on Friday.

"Obviously we'd like to shoot like that every game," Pritchard said. "I think it starts with ball movement, and not taking shots early. When we take good shots, everybody's capable."

Improved ball movement was a significant factor in the way the Ducks clicked late in nonconference play, sparking a school-record win streak of 17 games. The Rams' current win streak isn't quite that long, but Altman said its impact on Rhode Island's confidence in palpable.

The Ducks and Rams have one common opponent: Valparaiso, which Oregon beat 76-54 at home on Nov. 17, and Rhode Island lost to 65-62 on the road 12 days later. But Altman isn't putting much weight in that outcome, given how well the Rams are playing now.

On Friday against Creighton, Rhode Island — a 66.7 percent free-throw shooting team — made 28-of-29 before missing its last two to finish 28-of-31.

"Teams don't do that unless they're walking up there expecting to make it," Altman said. "That's playing with a lot of confidence, a lot of focus."

It will be up to the Ducks to match or exceed that Sunday evening, with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line.